After the batathons of the first 2 matches, and the totally one sided match between Rajasthan and Delhi, the IPL finally came into it's own on Sunday. Both the matches were totally competitive, both went down to the wire. And most importantly, it showed that T20 was not just about 4's and 6's. It was about true grit and competition. Kolkata Knight Riders overcame a minefield of a pitch, a power failure and a Mexican shoot out to prevail against Deccan. And in the best match of the tournament so far, dark horses Bangalore Royal Challengers, overcame their rout in the first match to shock favorites Mumbai Indians. Most importantly in both the venues, Eden Gardens and Wankhede, the fans took to their teams, like duck to water. The support was raccous, partisan, the opposing players were booed. Are we seeing the beginning of a new rivalry here?

Well anyway first and foremost i am delighted that Namma Bengalooru team won, in a match they were expected to lose by many( including yours truly). There are times when i dont mind eating my own words, and this was one of them. I honestly had no hope for Bangalore Royal Challengers, especially after the rout in the opening encounter. Also most of the Bangalore RC team had conventional batsmen like Dravid, Kallis, Jaffer who were not exactly slam bang specialists, the exception being MarkBoucher. Against that Mumbai had an array of stroke makers in Uthappa, Pollock, Jayasurya and all rounders like Pollock,Jayasurya himself, and above all Sachin Tendulkar.

But then Zaheer bowled brilliantly ably supported by Praveen Kumar. Honestly this was one of the best matches. Mumbai would start off well, Bangalore would pull things back, and just when it seemed Bangalore was dominating, Mumbai again come back. A real fascinating see saw battle. Uthappa played a brilliant knock, but when he fell, Mumbai still had a long way to go, and that was when old fox Pollock, played a blinder of an innings, especially taking apart Vinay Kumar in the final overs to take Mumbai to 165 in 20 overs.

In reply Bangalore started well with Dravid and Chanderpaul. Unfortunately Dravid's stop and start approach, did slow things down, he played some superb strokes, but also got bogged down, especially against Pollock. And just when Mumbai seemed to be taking the match, Boucher and Kallis put on a 55 run partnership. For me Mark Boucher remains the most underrated of all cricketers, apart from being a superb wicketkeeper, he is a gutsy player to the core. In fact one of the rare S.African players who dont choke at the last minute. And he showed his value here, as he intelligently placed the ball, and then lashed out in the final overs to take Bangalore to a victory. This was easily the best match so far.

Well let me stick my neck out, and say for sure, that Bangalore Royal Challengers is the team to watch out. Yeah what i learnt from the Mumbai match was to wear your heart on your sleeve, and i am proud to be a Bangalore Royal Challengers fan. Yep watch out guys, we are the dark horses for sure, and we are gonna give you all a nasty surprise. . Go Bangalore Go.

The first leg of the IPL has seen 3 matches so far,  Bangalore vs Kolkata, Chennai vs Punjab and Rajasthan vs Delhi.

I have not seen any of the matches on TV( don't get telecast here in Seoul), so this is basing on what i track from Cricinfo. So i really have no clue about all the entertainment stuff. But i did cringe when i heard Sony Max was telecasting it. That TV channel has been singularly responsible for dumbing down cricket coverage in India.

Anyway comming to the matches for me only the match between Chennai  Super Kings and Kings XI, Punjab looked like a match to me. The other two matches were mismatches of the first order.

Bangalore Royal Challengers were anything but Royal in mounting a challenge to the Knight Riders from Kolkata. The challenge was over before you could even say cheese. While every one was expecting Chris Gayle to provide the fireworks, it was the Kiwi batsman, Brendon McCullum, who did the honors with an astounding 158 off just 73 balls. It was a one man show all the way as Ganguly, Ponting and co, together contributed only 64 runs. Zaheer, Kallis, Praveen Kumar were all swept aside with total contempt.  In sharp contrast Bangalore collapsed to just 82 runs, making this a mother of all routs. Problem with Bangalore Royal Challengers is that most of their batsmen like Kallis, Dravid and Jaffer are the long distance runners, the slap dash nature of T20 is not their alley. Mark Boucher is the only one who can do the slam bang stuff, but when he got out, it was curtains. Interestingly it was Mr.DuckworthAjit Agarkar, who got 3 wickets.

The best match was between Yuvi's Kings XI Punjab and Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings. These 2 do look like the best teams in the IPL so far. For me though nothing to beat the sight of Matthew Hayden comming out and hammering Brett Lee and Hussey toying around with James Hopes. Aussie vs Aussie, Oye, Oye any one. But the best entry in score card would be Sangakarra being dismissed by Murali. Trust me thats a collector's item for sure. If it was Brendon in Bangalore, in Mohali it was Mr.Cricket Hussey, who did the honors with 116 from 54 hammering 8 boundaries and 9 6's. Punjab did give a strong reply through Hopes with 71 from 33 balls, but the dismisal of Hopes and Yuvraj, put paid to their hopes. Still this was a match, for quite some time. Dhoni's Midas touch seems to continue here also. Inspite of cheering from good ole Preity Zinta and some energetic Punjabi pop cheerleading, Chennai had the last laugh.

After the bowlers getting a hammering at Mohali, the pendulum swung the other way, where the Old Fox, er do i make it Pigeon, Glenn Mc Grath, proved that he can still throttle batsmen with line and length. As they say heroes never fade away. Much more outstanding was Maharoof  whose average was just 2.75. The Rajasthan Royals contained mostly has beens like Kaif, Shane Watson and Darren Lehman, and it just collapsed against the Delhi Daredevils bowling attack. 6/71 at one stage, they managed to end up with 129/8 in their 20 overs. And the target did not trouble the Delhi Daredevils at all, winning by 9 wickets comfortably. Gambhir and Dhawan knocked off the runs comfortably, with Sehwag's early dismisal being the only blip.

The comming two matches are really interesting. Dada's Kolkata Knight Riders will be taking on Deccan Chargers led by VVS Laxman in Eden Gardens, the decibel level is sure to be pitch high. But it wont be easy this time. Deccan has an array of slam bang specialists- Herschelle Gibbs, Adam Gilchrist, Shahid Afridi, Andrew Symonds, Scott Styris in its ranks, and the bowling dept is well served by Chaminda Vaas, Scott Styris, R.P.Singh and you can always count on Afridi for his deceptive spin. This match should be a cracker.

The Bangalore Royal Challengers will face another tougher opponent in Mumbai Indians led by Sachin. Apart from Sachin, Mumbai has a number of stroke makers too like Dwayne Bravo, Loots Bosman, Jayasurya, Uthappa and Shaun Pollock. And Mumbai has a good number of all rounders, Sachin, Jayasurya, Pollock and Bravo, so  Bangalore now has a real tough challenge on its hands to stay in the contention. Till then watch this space.

Have you ever seen a movie, and felt a personal connection to it, or some how one of the dialogues in that movie is something which you remember forever or a scene in that movie stays with u all the time?

Have you ever read a book and felt yourself identifying with the central character? Or have you ever found a book influencing your thoughts or values?

Is there a song which you love to listen to umpteen times, just to figure out that meaning? Or to understand the musical aspects like rythm and modulation? Or just to marvel at the singer?

There have been many movies which i love, but if u ask me about a movie that i find inspirational, it would be The Shawshank Redemption. This is a movie i have seen umpteen times, yet whenever i come to the climax scene, and when Red reads the message from Andy saying "Hope is a Wonderful thing", it just touches me personally. Something very moving about that.

Holden Caulfield's character in Catcher in the Rye, is something i feel close to personally. As i was reading the novel, i saw myself in Holden Caulfield, the same indecisiveness i had in my teenage years, the same kind of loathing i had for guys of my own age more richer or more succesful than me.

If there is any book, movie or music, which has touched you personally or which you feel close to your heart, just put it out here, as also what was the reason you felt so?  I also request members to post as many replies as possible and keep this thread active.

There are movies and then there are movies that cease to be mere cinema for you. Those are not the movies which you just see, enjoy and forget. Those are movies which touch your heart, which are a kind of close personal experience for you. The characters are some one you relate to. If i were to name two movies which have touched me personally, which would be my all time favorites at any given time in my life, there are 2 movies which would come to my mind any time- Anand and The Shawshank Redemption.

In one way both movies are different. Anand(1970)  is a movie about a cancer patient of the same name( Rajesh Khanna) who is not destined to live, and the relationship he has with his doctor( Amitabh Bachan).The Shawshank Redemption(1994) on the other hand is the story of Andy( Tim Robbins) who is imprisoned for the murder of his wife, and the friendship he has with Red( Morgan Freeman) a prison inmate.

But on a fundamental level, both movies deal with friendship. In Anand it is the friendship between Anand and Babu Moshai, while in Shawshank it is between Andy and Red. Both movies given an inspiring message- Anand tells us to take life as it is and enjoy every moment of it, while Shawshank is about "Hope is always a Good thing". While Anand has a cheerful tone most of the movie, but ends in tragedy, Shawshank has a depressing tone through most of the movie, but ends with an uplifting climax. Both movies are narrated by one of the lead actors- Anand by Amitabh Bachan and Shawshank by Morgan Freeman, both actors famous for their rich dialogue delivery.

But it is in the treatment of it's characters that make these 2 movies a special experience. The biggest irony is that Anand who is fated to die, is always cheerful, always happy, spreading hapiness. But deep inside he is aware of the tragedy awaiting him. As he says in a memorable dialog "Tujhe main Kya Aashirwad du behen, yeh bhi nahin ki mere umar tujhe lag jaaye".  In sharp contrast is Babu Moshai, who is cynical with life. He hates the fact that as a doctor, he is not able to save the lives of poor people, while he has to cater to the imaginary ailments of rich people. Babu Moshai is torn between his sense of idealism and having to live in a real world, something which his friend, Dr. Prakash, has already made. Prakash is a more worldly wise man, having adjusted with life.

Babu Moshai initially does not like Anand, he feels that he is not taking things seriously. But he like others is slowly won over Anand's infectious enthusiasm, and he becomes Anand's closest friend. The dialogues and scenes between Anand and Babu Moshai, are one of the most memorable ones in the history of Indian cinema. As Anand says "Zindagi aur maut ke khel hum sab katputhli hai". To the end while Anand, is ready to accept his fate, Babu Moshai now wants to save him. And the final irony comes when he shakes up Anand's lifeless body demanding that  he speak to him. This when he initially admonished Anand for talking too much. 

Andy and Red posses similar contrasting personalities. Andy is outwardly introverted, soft spoken and quiet. He is a person who keeps to himself. But deep inside he posses an infinite reservoir of inner strength. He is tortured, abused by his captor, has to help out his corrupt warden in laundering his money, yet his spirit is never broken. He keeps on digging that escape tunnel inch by inch which will take him out of prison. Red on the other hand is outgoing and street smart. He has learnt to live within the prison, and bend the rules to his own advantage. Yet deep inside Red is insecure and cynical. His outgoing nature is a mere facade to mask his own insecurity. He is not used to living in the normal world, so much that he dreads going outside.  

But it is the friendship with Andy, that has an impact on Red's life. In a memorable scene, when Red warns Andy not to be too hopeful as it can be dangerous, Andy answers back saying "Hope is never dangerous Red, Hope is always a good thing, hope keeps a man Alive". Much later, at the end of the movie when Red is released from prison, and wondering what to do, he reads Andy's letter, and that again comes with same message. Red teaches Andy how to survive in prison, Andy teaches Red how to live and survive in the real world. Anand and the Shawshank Redemption. Anand & Babu Moshai, Andy & Red. Two different movies, two different sets of characters. But yet both movies deal with friendship, both movies offer an uplifiting message. And both movies are all time classics that will never be forgotten.

There is a first time for everything in life. It is an experience, you will always remember.

You might have seen tonnes of movies in your life, but it  will be that first movie you watched on screen, that is special to you.

And how many novels you may read, it is your first James Hadley Chase or Alistair Maclean, that you will treasure.

Or maybe the first time you logged onto the net, and typed the URL and you saw the site appear.

So here are some wonderful first time experiences of mine.

My first Hollywood movie i saw way back in 1975 was The Poseidon Adventure on the screen in a theater. The sight of the huge wave capsizing the ship, just left me wonderstruck and from then on, i became a big time Hollywood fan.

I was dying to read Jules Verne'sAround the World in 80 Days, after i read an extract of it in my school English text book. And when i finally found an abridged version of it, i did not leave the book even for a moment, to the extent that i was reading it while having lunch. It also marked my graduation from comics to novels.

My first bestseller was Alistair Maclean's Breakheart Pass. My Dad had a lot of those bestseller novels, but i never dared to touch them, sceptical whether i could even complete one of those. I picked up Breakheart Pass, because i had seen the movie before, and loved it. And that started my love affair with bestsellers.

Catcher in the Rye marked my transition from bestsellers to more serious novels. The tale of a teenage boy and his confused state of mind, was something that was personal to me. As i kept reading, i could see Holden

The first time i made my own collection of Kishore Da songs. This was in the days before MP3, IPod and Net were there. The only way i could listen to songs was on the audio casette. I remember hunting for a recording shop, selecting my favorite songs and getting them recorded on a blank tape. And when i played that tape, and listened to the songs comming, wow i felt i had achieved something. I would not exchange that casette for all the DVD's.

The first time i drove out in my Maruti 800. As i changed the gears and hit the accelerator, and started to drive on the Noida roads, i felt i had taken my steps. And when i drove down all the way from Noida to Delhi, i felt like Schumi winning the Formula 1. It was my own car, and i felt like the King of the Road. My own car and my own space, on the same roads where i used to walk or wait for a bus.

When i first logged in to the net, and typed www.yahoo.com, and saw the web page appeared. When i logged into IRC, and said Hello, and immediately got a response, i was thrilled, that i was actually talking to some one over the computer. When i saw my first poem published on the net, i felt great that something i had written would actualy be read by so many people.

So this is for you all.

What is your first experience you treasure most? Your first movie, your first book, first time you drove, anything which you did for the first time and treasure it, just put it in comment section.

And yes if you say, i really dont remember how it was like, I can only say one thing.

Get Busy Living .

Well all the Bhatts, Abbas Mustans and those who have made their living stealing movies and the Pritams, Annu Malliks who have made their living copying tunes without even bothering to acknowledge, and justifying it as inspiration, the hour of reckoning has come.
This is from Mumbai Mirror.

Who is Ram Sampath?
A professional music composer, he has composed music for movies like Khakee, Lets Talk. He has also composed for Shaan's famous Tanha Dil album, as well as numerous ad jingles and TV shows.

What happened?
Ram Sampath composes a jingle called The Thump for Sony Ericsson aired in April 2007. Hrithik Roshan acted in that ad.
Sampath filed a complaint against Rajesh Roshan, for using the tune of Thump in 2 "Break Free" songs , as well as background score of their latest movie Krazzy4 without giving him any credit.
He filed a case against the Roshans, and on April 10,2008, the court orders the brothers to pay 2 Cr in damages to Sampath and give him all credit in future.

Some excerpts from Sampath's interview.
"I  heard the 'Break free' songs around March 18 and was horrified to find that they were taken from 'The Thump,' the jingle I had composed for Sony Ericsson. The jingle had taken over 100 hours of work to compose - all original work requires a lot of time and energy. And I wasn't going to let anyone else walk away with the credit. It was just not on! It was just so dishonest."
True, but then how would people who just keep doing copy paste work, understand what hard work means. This is not the first time Rajesh Roshan had done it. Earlier he had copied the tune of Vangelis Chariots of Fire theme for a song in Khoon Bhari Maang. And the sad part is that Rajesh actually had given some really good scores for movies like Julie, Priyatma, Khatta Meetha, Swami, Yaarana without resorting to copy cat tricks.

"First, I tried to check with the company how this had happened. But I was shunted around from receptionist to receptionist, almost as if I had nothing to do with it! They tried to stonewall me, thinking I'd either get scared or run out of steam"
Well not surprising, thats what most companies do, regardless of the b**s they keep printing in their glossy brochures.

"So I went to court alone. And I'm a proud citizen today. Tomorrow if anyone tells me that there's no point in fighting against plagiarism, I can quote my case. The High Court has given a very quick decision. It's a decision which sets a precedent for the music industry and is bound to make plagiarists sit up and think twice. "
Way to go Ram, i would really love to see all the copy paste artistes, shivering in their pants( and thats a polite term). Pritam Aan Milo, any one?

"Copyright has to be understood and respected. If we can't protect what's ours, there's no point in creating anything.Everyone in the creative field should get their hands on the 1957 Indian Copyright Act. It makes it very clear that no one has the carpet licence to use your work, or let others use it to their own credit, by paying you a one-time fee. I am not an employee of any company. I was hired as an external collaborator. So there was no question of my work being anyone else's to give away at will."
Bravo, well at least now i hope this will make guys use their brains to create something instead of just doing copy paste jobs. I want to ask MS members here just one thing. You put your heart and soul in a review. You put your effort in to it. How would you like it if couple of days later, you find that some one else here has copied your review word by word, or maybe made just a couple of changes? Are you going to say, so what as long as my review makes people entertain? No we cant, and mind you we are not getting paid either. Imagine the plight of some one who puts in their hard work, and finds at the end of the day they dont get credit for their work, while some one steals it and passes it off as his own. I hope this judgement will knock some sense into Bollywood and the egomaniacal morons inhabiting it. Wish some one would do the same against the Bhatts, and not just extract 2 crores from them, but seize all their assets, throw them on the streets, and ensure that we dont get to hear Mahesh Uncle's big mouth again. Kya bolte hai Mahesh Uncle ji, lagta hai aapka number aanewala hai?

I just received the following facts about Warren Buffet. The World's richest man, often nicknamed as the Oracle of Omaha. He was in news  when he donated 31$ billion in charity to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. But what struck me was his principles and ideas. I do wish our Page 3 Celebs and some of our over hyped CEO's learn from this man. This is what i call sheer class, you may have all the money in the world, but only when you have the class and character, do you become a Warren Buffet.

 1) He bought his first share at age 11 and he now regrets that he started too late!

2) He bought a small farm at age 14 with savings from delivering newspapers.

3) He still lives in the same small 3-bedroom house in mid-town Omaha , that he bought after he got married 50 years ago. He says that he has  everything he needs in that house. His house does not have a wall or a fence.

4) He drives his own car everywhere and does not have a driver or security people around him.

5) He never travels by private jet, although he owns the world's largest private jet company.

6) His company, Berkshire Hathaway, owns 63 companies. He writes only one letter each year to the CEOs of these companies, giving them goals for the year. He never holds meetings or calls them on a regular basis. He has given his CEO's only two rules:
 
Rule number 1: do not lose any of your share holder's money.
 
Rule number 2: Do not forget rule number 1.

7) He does not socialize with the high society crowd. His past time after he gets home is to make himself some pop corn and watch Television.

8) Bill Gates, the world's richest man met him for the first time only 5 years ago. Bill Gates did not think he had anything in common with Warren Buffet. So he had scheduled his meeting only for half hour. But when Gates met him, the meeting lasted for ten hours and Bill Gates became a devotee of Warren Buffet.

And consider some of his ideals


A) Money doesn't create man but it is the man who created money.

B) Live your life as simple as you are.

C) Don't do what others say, just listen to them, but do what makes you feel good.

D) Don't go on brand name; just wear those things in which you feel comfortable.

E) Don't waste your money on unnecessary things; just spend on things that you really need.

F) After all it's your life, then why give others the chance to rule your life.

This is what a legend is, this is what a true man is. This man deserves a salute not just for his immense wealth, and success, but for his ideals. The world needs more men like him.

Some random ramblings out here, based on my experiences in life.  Nothing special. Yeah if  you find anything useful that would be a bonus.

3 Things are inevitable in life- Death, Taxes and Failure. We spend all the life trying to avoid them.

Be your own supporter, in that way you can win even if 1000 people dont back you.You dont support yourself, not even the backing of a 1000 people can help you.

Keep your ears wide open, your eyes always awake, your head on your shoulders and your feet on the ground.

Be Yourself, you can never be some one else, however much you try.

Keep your ears open for all advice, use your brain to filter out the good and bad, and then go ahead.

Those who can do, those who can't talk.

Failure is a much better teacher than success. Success makes you complacent and arrogant, failure makes you alert and humble.

It is easy to be cynical, it is tougher to believe, and much tougher to believe and do.


Well keep watching for more random ramblings.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh strongly warned Sonia Gandhi not to treat him like a puppet. Stating in a private and confidential interview to Aaj Tak, the PM warned the Gandhi family not to interfere with their day to day administration. He also claimed that the Gandhi Nehru name does not work nowadays.

The Govt of  India today has announced it will go on a drive to check for unproductive expenditure. All aditional MP's allowances will be cut. From now onwards MP's will have to shell out from their own pockets for any travel they do within or outside the country. Also MP's will have to pay for telephone bills and power bills. The Govt has claimed that it is doing so to cut unproductive costs. In an unprecedented show of unity, MP's cutting across party lines have hailed the Govt. stand. Many MP's have claimed that they are willing to undergo any difficulty for the sake of  India.

In an unprecedented gesture, the Communist parties have welcomed the Govt decision to privatize SAIL. They said that privatization  of SAIL would actually help the Govt to rase funds, which could be used for better education and health care. The Commies have now demanded that all such loss making public enterprises should be privatized, and Govt pay more attention to sectors like education, health care and infrastrucure. Mr. Sitaram Yechury in fact claimed "Why should Governments run bakeries, hotels, scooter manufacturing units? Let Governments look after governance".

Actors Uday Chopra, Zayed Khan, Asmit Patel, Riya Sen and Tanusree Dutta have been awarded the Padma Bhushan award for their outstanding contribution to the field of acting. They have been held up as role models for acting.

And finally George Bush has admitted that America made a big mistake in Iraq, and is now planning to withdraw from there.

This News is comming from the FirstOfApril TV, a private TV channel started by Scorpius Maximus Indicus in Seoul. Also watch out for Soju with Scorpius, a TV talk show dedicated to movie classics like Jaani Dushman-Ek Anokhi Kahani and Laga Chunari Mein Daag.

Ok this is the last in my series of  You Know you are in. Hyderabad is almost like a second home town to me, where i worked for some time, as also the place where most of my aunts and cousins reside. So this is for Cyberabad. And yeah any one who has been in Hyderabad or any native Hyderabadi, is welcome to add their contribution.

You Know You are in Hyderabad

* When you get married in a function Hall.

* When you say "Nakko"  for No, "Light Theesuko" or "Light le le" for Take it Easy.

* When you do the 100 pradikshanas at the Venkateswara Swamy Temple in Chilukur in the hope of getting your H1 visa.

* When your life's ambition is restricted to 3 words- US, H1 visa and Green Card.

* When you find that you can get the H1 Visa also for a price.

* When you write a simple program in Java, in a one room office at Ameerpet and call yourself a software professional.

* When you know the different kinds of visa to US, and all the state capitals of US by heart.

* When you make it to Paradise circle for that famous Hyderabadi Biryani.

* When you hang out with your friends at the Irani cafe, sipping tea and chit chatting for hours together.

* When the language you speak is a strange mixture of  Hindi, English, Telugu, Marathi and Urdu.

* When you find a movie theater at every nook and corner.

*  When you find that jatras or religious processions are usually named after fierce looking goddesses with names like Yellamma, Maisamma, Mahankali.

* When you shop for pearls and Bangles at Lad Bagh.

* When you find that Mehboob ki Mehndi is not the Rajesh Khanna movie, but the city's red light area.

* When you are able to get any book at a throwaway price at Koti's book bazaar.

* When you have to crouch while sitting in a rickshaw.

Well as of now these are what i could get off hand, some more later.